LAWRENCE COUNTY State official vows more road funding

Per-county amounts are set by the Legislature, a PennDOT official said.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- State and local officials agree: Lawrence County isn't getting its fair share of funding to maintain its state roads.
"I recognize this part of the state, from a highway maintenance standpoint, has not been getting its fair share," said Gary Hoffman, deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. "We will recognize that as we put together our funding program."
Hoffman and Earl Neiderhiser, the acting district executive for the region including Lawrence County, met with county officials last week to talk about maintenance concerns.
Borough and township officials contend that road maintenance this past winter wasn't what it had been in the past, and that road maintenance the rest of the year isn't up to snuff with that of neighboring counties such as Mercer and Butler.
Hoffman said there are differences in the amount of funding each county PennDOT office receives based on a formula set by the state Legislature. He said that can only change through an act of the Legislature.
Extra resources
Although that is unlikely, Hoffman said, his office does have some discretionary funds, and he intends to send more money to Lawrence and Beaver counties. Hoffman said Beaver has an even wider funding disparity than Lawrence.
"I think the bottom line is -- more so than anywhere else -- the maintenance allocation does not treat Beaver or Lawrence County fairly," Hoffman said.
Studies done every two years by an outside agency show that Lawrence County is getting only 45 percent of the funding it needs to adequately maintain its state roads, and Beaver is getting 26 percent. By comparison, Mercer County gets 51 percent of what it needs and Butler County gets 91 percent, he said.
Hoffman and Neiderhiser say there are management decisions that may help Lawrence County improve its road maintenance. Neiderhiser said the county maintenance office in recent years has left its larger paving jobs to outside contractors, but he is recommending that the county office do some of the preparation work and then hire pavers to just pave.
"When we do our own prep work, that is when we get the best prices," Neiderhiser said.
Hoffman said he is recommending that the PennDOT county office do less tarring and chipping of its roadways. The county, on average, tars and chips a road every 4.4 years, he said. PennDOT recommends that it be done every six years.
"It may be we are doing too much, and the difference [only doing it every six years] will allow us to blacktop more often," Hoffman said.
Winter care
Hoffman also promised to look into winter maintenance after getting complaints from local officials.
Union officials from the local PennDOT office defended their work earlier this year after the same complaints were made by local officials.
Dave Vercilla, president of Local 1816 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, contends that his supervisors were reluctant to hand out overtime, sending home part-time operators. That left him covering four snow routes, or about 40 miles of road. He said new computers in trucks also cut the amount of anti-skid material that could be dropped on the road.
Hoffman said there are new computers, but operators do have the ability to override them when necessary.
Vercilla said last February that they often wouldn't be called out overnight if there was a snowstorm, but begin at the normal 4 a.m. shift. His supervisors say it's a balancing act and that they are just trying to manage their resources.
Hoffman said that isn't PennDOT policy.
"The drill is, those folks ought to be sitting at intersections waiting for snow to fall," he said.
cioffi@vindy.com